It’s Thursday again – time for a new service challenge! If you’ve participated with us in the past, thank you! If not, this challenge is a great one to start with. Why? Because no matter what your financial position is, you can help!

This week’s challenge is simple: Feed someone who is hungry. (Technically, this challenge is the “Feed a Stranger Challenge”, and I’ll be giving suggestions in that vein. But of course, if you know someone who is hungry, take this week to consider how you might help, or even how you might be able to rally your community’s support.)

I’m going to share suggestions at for those in various financial positions. If you have absolutely nothing to give monetarily, don’t worry! You’re first!

Are you on a there’s-nothing-to-spare budget? If you are living paycheck to paycheck (or if you are hoping and praying that paychecks will someday start again), you might feel like this challenge is one that you can’t participate in. But you can! Have you heard of The Hunger site? It’s pretty cool. You go and click a button, and food is donated to people living in poverty. I know, it sounds kind of scammy. But remember when I talked about Swagbucks? It’s kind of the same idea. The Hunger Site has a lot of sponsors who pay them money to advertise on their page. When you visit their website, they get paid just because you’re glancing at ads. They turn around and use that money to feed hungry people. It’s that simple. In 10 seconds, your click can buy a little more than a cup of food to feed someone in desperate need. You can try it here.

Are you on a very tight budget? Did you read my post earlier about the book Kisses from Katie? Katie Davis founded one of my very favorite programs. When she began living and serving in Uganda, she found many children in her community who weren’t going to school – not because it wasn’t available to them, but because they were hungry. These children were choosing to spend the day digging in the garbage for food rather than going to school. Her Masese Feeding Outreach is simple: she feeds them. I love this for several reasons, but it primarily boils down to this – she feeds them, she gives them hope, and she enables their education, offering them a better future. When I went to donate last year, there was a note on the website asking people to donate online with a credit card rather than mailing in a check, because “for the cost of a stamp, we can feed two more hungry children”. This shows me that they take any and all donation money very seriously. If you have one extra dollar in your budget, you can feed four hungry children. That is amazing to me. You can check out her program here.

Do you have a few extra dollars to give? Reach out locally! Call your closest food bank and ask what their greatest need is. (At mine, the greatest need actually isn’t food – it’s toilet paper! It’s worth a phone call before you go to the store.) Remember, smart shopping can really stretch your budget. One of my local grocery stores has name-brand canned vegetables for $.29 this week. My $3 can give 10 local families a side of vegetables to go with their dinner!

Do you have even more to spare? I would encourage you to consider making a donation to a non-profit organization that supports those in poverty. Compassion International has a special place in my heart. And right now, they have a Christmas catalog. In honor of a loved one, you can make a donation to Compassion, and you can designate where that money goes. You can buy seeds for a family to plant a garden; you can buy livestock; you can financially support a child who is waiting for sponsorship. And if you’d like, they will send your friend or family member a card letting them know about the donation that was made in their name. If you have people on your Christmas list who already have everything, this is the perfect gift!

That’s our challenge for this week! I hope you are able to find a cause that speaks to your heart. Remember that no matter how much or how little you have to spend, you can always, ALWAYS make a difference.